Get listed in the New Kentucky Colonels Handbook (Historical Edition) with the Original Kentucky Colonels.
Established: May 23, 1775 — Officialized as an Honorable Title by Kentucky in 1875 — Recognized by Congress on April 2, 1936 — Today, our website stands as a historical record (register) that is unrefuted by academics and state officials now before the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Sixth Circuit.
The founders of Kentucky (mostly colonels) came together on May 23, 1775 at the Divine Elm in Boonesborough to establish the first manly "democratic" government made up of its inhabitants. Among them were James Harrod, Daniel Boone, Richard Henderson, Jim Bowman and nine or more others gaining recognition that day as Honorable Colonels of their respective Transylvanian (Kentucky) colonial settlements, whereas were too the colonist settlers recognized as "Honorable".
Since then over half of Kentucky's counties, dozens of its branch waterways, towns, roads, farms, and more named for Kentucky's most famous Colonels.
Since 2020 when the Origin of the Kentucky Colonel starting in 1813 was debunked we have discovered dozens of likely origins of the tradition as a Kentucky Custom. New things are being discovered everyday about the Kentucky Colonel Class and Kentucky Colonelcy, when we find them we document the source and add them to the AI database of facts.
The Kentucky Derby: How the Run for the Roses became America's Premier Sporting Event, James C. Nicholson
My Grandmother's Erotic Folktales, Robert Antoni
Wild West Weekly, No. 53, October 23, 1903
Calvin Cobb, Radio Woodworker, Roy Underhill
Kentucky Colonel—New Vintage, Collected Writing of J. Winston Coleman Jr., LL.D., Litt.D.
The Emergence of American English as a Discursive Variety.
A Kentucky Colonels Uniform, Kentucky State Bar Journal 1944-09: Vol 8 Iss 4
Twenty-third Lincoln birthday service, Memorial Hall, Chicago, Sunday, February 12, 1922, 2:30 P.M.. William Eleazar Barton
Symbols of America, Hal Morgan
The title of Kentucky Colonel originated not as a courtesy designation or charitable novelty, but as a formal title of public civil authority established on May 23, 1775, during the Transylvania Convention at Boonesborough on the Kentucky River. There, in the midst of America’s first experiment in frontier self-government, Daniel Boone, Richard Henderson, John Bowman, and James Harrod were among the first individuals recognized in Kentucky by a head-of-state with their honorable titles under a legal charter—authorized by mutual agreement, public consent to authority, property rights, civil order, and treaty, rather than by military rank.
This early form of colonial democracy, often referred to as the Kentucke Magna Charta, predates Kentucky statehood by more than a decade. Its delegates drafted laws, settled claims, and established public authority under the Transylvania Company’s jurisdiction, which was later integrated into Virginia and ultimately the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The title “colonel” was used since that day to designate civilian authority figures with command over land, peace, and law. These colonels founded courts, designated sheriffs, surveyed property, and represented the civil will of the people at a time when state and federal governments were still emerging in the 13 colonies.
From these origins, the Kentucky Colonel emerged as a symbol of civic virtue, democratic authority, and frontier leadership—not merely as a title of honor, but as a public trust granted to individuals whose service helped shape the laws, lands, and liberties of early Kentucky. This historical fact has been consistently preserved in state archives, scholarly works, and cultural memory dating back to the 18th century.
The "First is Always the Best," it is also the "most original." Now in 2025 we are back again, the first, original, and official "Kentucky Colonels ©" website based on the original documented 1905, 1908, 1920, 1930, 1937, and 1939 patent customs, oath, origins, rites, regulations, and traditions first adopted by the original Kentucky Colonels Club 1905, the Kentucky Colonels Association 1930, and the Kentucky Colonel Model Initiation Club 1914.
"Once a Colonel always a Colonel" so said the Kentucky Colonels Association in the 1930 Kentucky Colonels Handbook, 100 years after the first "Kentucky Colonel" debuted on stage at the Covent Garden in London, the following month American newspapers distinguished the "Kentucky Colonel" class with Colonel Nimrod Wildfire, the first archetype devoid from any assumed US military rank.
In Virginia in the 1890's it was said that "Colonels are born not made." So was true in Kentucky, a son or nephew who took over a plantation, horse farm, or a land grant (acres) was referred to with the title of colonel. However throughout America, the idea of the "Colonel" endured the test of time when it became acceptable to have a military class of colonels, militia colonels, and the original civilian class.
The Kentucky Colonel Registry™ (replacing the "List of Kentucky Colonels" in 2026) is the official historical record and living civic register of individuals recognized as part of the Kentucky Colonel class. Unlike informal directories or honorary rosters maintained by private associations, this Registry is now structured as a public-facing archive of authenticated, culturally and legally acknowledged colonelships—documented across time, jurisdiction, and historical provenance. It preserves names, appointments, and contextual information for each individual to ensure that the civic legacy of the Kentucky Colonel is neither forgotten nor misrepresented.
The Registry is based upon primary source materials, authenticated public documents, and verified archival records—including gubernatorial commissions, historical directories, and public domain cultural sources. These records have been compiled into a sworn Declaration of Historical Fact © with Legal Appendices:
Appendix A: Sources of the Kentucky Colonel
Appendix B: Quotes and Passages
Appendix C: Images of the Kentucky Colonel
Appendix D: Things Called a Kentucky Colonel
Appendix E: Exhibits Exposition (100+ FRE 201 Exhibits)
Together they were formally submitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the Library of Congress, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746 and Federal Rule of Evidence 201(b). Each registered colonel is recorded as part of this collective historical identity, creating an enduring, lawful record of public acknowledgment.
Additionally, the Registry now functions as a licensure and credentialing system for contemporary Kentucky Colonels who choose to affirm their place within this historic civic tradition. By registering, individuals will receive formal acknowledgment of their status as part of the recognized civil class of Kentucky Colonels, statewide by county, nationwide by city and state, and internationally by city and country. They become part of a documented continuum that stretches from Boone and Shelby to the present day—we aim to be an inclusive, peer-driven Congress of Kentucky Colonels that maintains fidelity to history while advancing a cooperative civic future.
The new Kentucky Colonel Registry (2026) and Historical Register will supercede all Kentucky Colonel databases, directories, lists, chronologies, and timelines with its abilities using AI Technologies like Gemini and ChatGPT with the Kentucky Colonel Consulate™. As the factual and verifiable historical data is stored about "Kentucky Colonels" individuals from the Kentucky Colonel Civil Class the great story is built.
In continuation of the Kentucky Colonel’s historical role as a civil leader and community dignitary, the Kentucky Colonel Credential™ and the Kentucky Colonel Badge™ serve as modern, verifiable acknowledgments of title and lawful distinction. These instruments are not decorative novelties; they are based upon established precedents in civic recognition, peer authenticated, and blockchained—akin to contemporary mayoral, judicial, and gubernatorial insignia and identification issued at the state level for formal identity verification and public representation.
The Kentucky Colonel Badge™ is modeled on early 20th-century insignia, most notably the silver six-point star issued to colonels during the Progressive Era (c.1907-1929), as featured in official regalia, news photography, and state press. It is designed to visually restore the dignity of the commission without mimicry or theatrical embellishment. The badge affirms not only personal honor but also historical continuity with those who once held civil, diplomatic, and public trust under the authority of Kentucky’s governors.
The Kentucky Colonel Credential™ now replaces earlier forms of informal identification and the Kentucky Colonel Identification Card (2021-2023) by offering a recognized title license issued through the Registry. It certifies that the individual has voluntarily acknowledged the responsibilities, rights, and historic office of the Kentucky Colonel. Each credential reflects the lawful standing of the registrant within a historically valid framework. While separate from commercial or philanthropic ventures, the Credential operates as an official civic record of the individual’s standing, echoing the original purpose of colonel appointments under Boone, Henderson, Bowman, and Shelby—recognition of one’s public usefulness, honorable conduct, and constructive influence in society.
